Realme GT Review
Big specs for less
Verdict
If you’re looking for a phone with a top-of-the-line Snapdragon processor, a long-lasting battery and a smooth 120Hz display, the Realme GT is definitely worth your consideration. The camera has its drawbacks and the faux leather design might not appeal to everyone, but with features such as 5G and fast charging, the phone is well-equipped to compete with larger flagships at an alluring mid-range price.
Pros
- Fast performance
- Good battery life
- Beautiful 120Hz display
Cons
- The camera lacks in some areas
- The two-tone design won’t be to everyone’s taste
Availability
- UKunavailable
- USAunavailable
- EuropeRRP: €449
- Canadaunavailable
- Australiaunavailable
Key Features
- ChipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G
- Display6.43-inch Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate
- CameraSony 64-megapixel triple camera
- Battery4500mAh with 65W SuperDart charging
Introduction
Realme recently unveiled its latest eye-catching flagship, the Realme GT.
The phone packs a 120Hz Super AMOLED display, a 64-megapixel triple-camera array, a 4500mAh battery and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 5G chip all for less that €450 (or under €600, if you opt for the 12GB/256GB model). To non-techies these are all features and specs we traditionally see on much more expensive phones.
The smartphone will be available to buy in the UK from June 21 – but should you take the plunge? Read on to learn more about Realme’s latest flagship handset and how I found using it for the last week as my main phone.
Design and screen
- The GT has an eye-catching vegan leather dual-tone design
- There’s a headphone jack
- The display boasts a 120Hz refresh rate and a 360Hz touch sampling rate
One of the most attention-grabbing aspects of the GT is its vegan leather dual-tone design. The review unit on test is covered in a textured, warm yellow faux leather and features a wide, black stripe that extends vertically from the camera module. The phone comes in three colours – Racing Yellow, Dashing Silver and Dashing Blue – and is treated to protect against odours, cracks and fingerprints. While the black stripe on the Racing Yellow GT can be prone to fingerprints, I can’t see the vegan leather becoming scuffed as easily.
The Realme GT is a slim and lightweight phone at 158.5 x 173.3 x 9.1mm and it weighs 186g. The edges of the phone are a shiny dark silver metal and slightly wider at the top and bottom of the handset. On the right sits the power button, while the volume controls and SIM card slot are on the left. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack on the base of the phone, alongside a USB-C port for charging.
Turn the GT over and you’ll be faced with a 6.43-inch Super AMOLED display. The panel is surrounded by a thin black bezel, with no notch taking up space at the top of the screen. Instead, the front camera resides in a hole-punch design in the top-left corner.
The display boasts a speedy 120Hz refresh rate, as well as a 360Hz touch sampling rate, offering smoother scrolling and a faster response time. The screen also packs dual ambient light sensors to automatically adjust the brightness and keep it comfortable to the eyes.
During testing I found the display is noticeably smooth and the colours presented on-screen are bright and vibrant. The Realme GT also includes a face unlock feature, as well as an in-display fingerprint scanner that makes unlocking the phone feel quick and seamless. I never had any issues using it to unlock the phone during testing.
Camera
- The GT has a 64-megapixel triple camera
- Zoom and macro settings leave something to be desired
- The Pro Nightscape mode does a good job of brightening up scenes
The Realme GT features a triple-camera array, consisting of a 64-megapixel Sony IMX682 main sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. Realme claims its upgraded multi-frame synthesis algorithm offers clarity closer to 108 megapixels by capturing several 64-megapixel images at once.
Comparing images captured in the camera’s default setting with its 64-megapixel mode, the primary difference is how much detail is visible up-close. The larger file size of the latter allows you to zoom in much further and glean more detail from the 64-megapixel image. The threads in my daisy face mask, for example, were much sharper and easier to recognise up-close in the 64-megapixel mode than they were in the standard camera setting when I pinched to zoom in.
The colours were also brighter in the 64-megapixel setting in certain images, although I didn’t necessarily prefer the look to the regular camera since the brightness took away some of the dimension.
However, the differences between the two are miniscule if you aren’t looking for them. Both settings present deep, vibrant colours and crisp detail. My biggest issue with the Realme’s camera is that it doesn’t offer the most natural result, especially when compared to some of the best camera phones we’ve recently tested. The little details in the trees look overly sharp and the colours of the grass and the flowers are pumped beyond what you’d see in real life.
The macro lens doesn’t feel necessary. While it’s able to focus closer to a subject, the result is much duller and grittier than that captured with the wide angle camera.
There’s a 10x zoom camera that produces decent results at 2x, but the image starts to become a little crunchy when pushed to 5x and beyond. There’s also an ultra-wide angle lens that makes it possible to fit more of your surroundings into one image.
One upgrade Realme credits to its new algorithm is better noise control and richer details in low-light scenes. The Realme GT has a Night mode and a Pro Nightscape mode. While the Night mode noticeably reduces the level of noise in an image and brightens up the scene overall, Pro Nightscape takes this a step further by offering manual controls such as ISO and shutter speed that allow you to control how much light the camera lets in. The resulting images are even brighter and smoother than those captured with the standard Night mode.
On the front of the phone you’ll find a 16-megapixel hole-punch camera with AI beauty mode sliders and a Portrait mode. The front camera creates bright, clear selfies with soft backgrounds (and the addition of AI smoothing doesn’t hurt).
Turn the phone around and the rear camera offers a handful of portrait modes, including AI colour portrait and dynamic bokeh. AI colour portrait juxtaposes a coloured portrait with a black-and-white background, while dynamic bokeh offers an interesting horizontal bokeh effect akin to a moving train behind you.
The Realme GT is also able to capture 4K video at up to 60fps. Videos taken with the GT are bright and sharp and the audio is clear, too.
Performance
- The GT is powered by the flagship Snapdragon 888 5G
- Realme UI 2.0 offers some fun personalisation features
- The phone is equipped with a steel-copper cooling system
One of the features that makes the Realme GT a flagship device is the top-of-the-line chipset that powers it. The GT packs Qualcomm’s current flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 888 5G, along with up to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. I tested the 8GB/128GB version.
The list of phones powered by the chipset include the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, the OnePlus 9 Pro and the Xiaomi Mi 11, so you know the Realme GT is in good company. Not only does the chip offer 5G support at an affordable price, but it also packs some serious performance power.
The phone is fast and responsive, moving between apps with very little delay. This seamless feeling is helped along by the 120Hz refresh rate and 360Hz touch sampling rate of the display. The latter is especially helpful when gaming on the GT. Jumping into a game of Among Us showcases just how responsive the display is, allowing you to move through tasks and flee from imposters with ease.
Onto the operating system, the GT runs Realme UI 2.0, which is based on Android 11. The skin includes some fun personalisation features, including the ability to set a colour scheme for your phone to follow, lots of always-on display themes to choose from, and customisable fonts and icons, to name a few. I really enjoyed taking the time to personalise the phone with my favourite colours and a font that places tiny bears above all of my app tiles. In general, I found the OS relatively intuitive and easy-to-navigate.
The GT also features a next-gen steel-copper composite structure that Realme claims offers 50% better cooling power and 42% more strength when compared with traditional copper VC cooling systems. While the phone did become quite hot while charging, I found it otherwise remained pleasantly cool even with heavy use.
Battery life
- The GT features a 4500mAh battery
- The phone also supports 65W SuperDart fast charging
- There’s a power-saving mode and support for OTG reverse charging
The Realme GT packs a huge 4500mAh battery that can last an average day of use with ease. I kept an eye on the battery level while streaming YouTube videos and noted that it took 52 minutes for the battery to drop by just 5%.
The GT supports Realme’s 65W SuperDart charging technology, which means the USB-C charger in the box is capable of taking you from 0% to 100% in as little as 35 minutes.
You can also save battery in a pinch by entering power-saving mode. This prompts the phone to close some background apps, pause background automatic synchronisation function, reduce the display’s brightness, and turn off touch vibrations.
Finally, there’s support for OTG reverse charge, which allows you to juice up select phones, true wireless headphones and smart watches with your GT.
Best Offers
Should you buy it?
You want a flagship phone for cheap The Realme GT offers fast performance, an all-day battery life and a sharp, 120Hz Super AMOLED display – all for less than €450.
You want the best camera available While the Realme camera generally produces decent photos, the macro and zoom settings, in particular, leave something to be desired.
Final thoughts
If you’re looking for a phone with a top-of-the-line Snapdragon processor, a long-lasting battery and a smooth 120Hz display, the Realme GT is definitely worth your consideration. The camera has its drawbacks and the faux leather design might not appeal to everyone, but with features such as 5G and fast charging, the phone is well-equipped to compete with larger flagships at an alluring mid-range price.
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FAQs
Yes, the Realme GT is powered by the Snapdragon 888 chipset that supports 5G.
The Realme GT runs Realme UI 2.0, which is based on Android 11 and offers additional personalisation features.
The Realme GT does not have a formal water resistance rating. This is a common compromise on phones this price,
Specs
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
